Police used water cannon to disperse protesters on Tuesday as officers came under attack for a second night, with petrol bombs, fireworks and masonry thrown during the disorder.
Riot police were deployed around the Clonavon Terrace area on Tuesday evening as hundreds of people gathered in the County Antrim town.
Police Service of Northern Ireland has advised members of the public to avoid the area.
PSNI vehicles formed barricades on some roads while riot police wearing armour and carrying shields stood nearby.
Some protesters shouted abuse and threw objects at the police, including glass bottles and pieces of metal.
A car was set on fire near a car wash and tyre centre as part of blazes started by protesters and multiple house windows were smashed.
Police fired plastic baton rounds at some of those gathered and also used a water cannon to disperse the crowd.
PSNI officers accompanied by dog units moved protesters away from Clonavon Terrace towards the junction of Bridge Street and North Street.
Earlier, police said a 29-year-old man had been charged with riotous behaviour after being arrested during the disorder in Ballymena on Monday night.
The man, who is due to appear before Ballymena magistrates court on Thursday 3 July, has also been charged with disorderly behaviour, attempted criminal damage and resisting police.
Fifteen police officers were injured and several homes attacked on Monday during what has been called a “mob fury” of racially motivated disturbances in the Northern Irish town.
Some people in a crowd threw petrol bombs, fireworks, heavy masonry and bricks at police and tried to burn the homes of a handful of foreign families in the County Antrim town.
The violence erupted after a vigil for a teenage girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by two 14-year-old boys. Earlier on Monday the boys had appeared in court charged with attempted rape. A Romanian interpreter read them the charges.
On Tuesday, the PSNI said it had made a third arrest in connection with the incident and reiterated a public appeal for information. It said a 28-year-old man had been unconditionally released from police custody after questioning.
The attacks on Monday damaged two police vehicles and injured 15 officers, some who required hospital treatment. Four houses were damaged by fire and three people evacuated from their homes amid what are being investigated as racially motivated hate attacks.
Liam Kelly, the chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, which represents officers, said the injuries told a “frightening story of a mob fully intent on inflicting great harm”. He said officers worked tirelessly to defuse a potentially explosive situation and uphold the law.
“I have no doubt whatsoever that police officers – far too few, because the service is starved of resources and officer numbers – prevented a pogrom with consequences too painful to contemplate. What we saw was totally mindless, unacceptable and feral,” Kelly said.
In a video shared online, a woman who had observed homes being attacked expressed concern that debris could “ricochet” and hit those participating or watching, the Irish News reported.
“Be careful lads,” she said. A man then informed her that there were people in one of the houses being attacked. She replied: “Aye, but are they local? If they’re local, they need out. If they’re not local, let them fucking stay there.”
The assistant chief constable Ryan Henderson said on Tuesday: “Over the coming days, we will have in place a significant policing presence to help protect these communities in Ballymena and prevent any future disorder.”
Reinforcements would be sought from Wales and England if necessary, Henderson said.
Jim Allister, the Traditional Unionist Voice leader and MP for North Antrim, condemned the violence and said tension had been building in the town, which is 25 miles north of Belfast. “Within Ballymena there has been rising concerns about the sheer scale of migration into the town, and that would have been a factor in the wholly peaceful protest,” he said.
The Northern Ireland secretary, Hilary Benn, posted on X: “The terrible scenes of civil disorder we have witnessed in Ballymena again this evening have no place in Northern Ireland.
“There is absolutely no justification for attacks on PSNI officers or for vandalism directed at people’s homes or property.”
Politicians across Northern Ireland’s political spectrum condemned the violence. “There is absolutely no place in our society for such disorder,” said Naomi Long, the justice minister.
The health minister, Mike Nesbitt, on Tuesday visited homes that had been damaged. “I understand people have concerns about immigration. There are legitimate ways to express those concerns – last night was not one of them,” he said.
There has been a spate of intimidation and attacks against people from abroad in County Antrim in recent years, forcing some to flee.
